Users of torrents to get hold of their online media will already be very familiar with Popcorn Time, the app that used to allow the downloading and streaming of torrents, with playback also handled by the same software. A one-stop shop for torrenting needs, Popcorn Time understandably became a target for law enforcement, and was subsequently shut down. Those seeking to take its place, such as the popular popcorntime.io fork have also found themselves targets for those looking to keep the peace, but that doesn’t mean that they are winning.
A new web-based technology is making it possible to run a Popcorn Time-like experience in a web browser, with the users able to click a link and have the torrent streamed to their computer as if they were clicking an entry on Netflix’s website. The whole thing runs in a web browser, but unlike previous web versions, this one is made possible thanks to a new plugin that works with all major desktop web browsing apps.
Effectively turning Popcorn Time into a web app, popcorntime-online.io looks and feels just like the original but it runs in a web browser. Coupled with a new plugin called Torrents Time (torrents-time.com), popcorntime-online.io does not need a third-party BitTorrent client in order to work, with everything being handled by the plugin itself, which is available for Windows 7 and above.
Popcorn Time Online
The team behind Torrents Time, speaking to TorrentFreak, says that “a torrent client built-in to the browser enables the downloading of the file referred to by the torrent with one click, with the torrent appearing on the HTML page. The user does not need to run a separate BitTorrent client.” It’s this simplicity that made Popcorn Time so popular in the first place, and translating that same feature-set to the web could see popcorntime-online.io become just as popular.
Using Anonymous VPN as its privacy provider and claiming to offer instant streaming of torrents, the Torrents Time service also has the ability to share content via AirPlay and Chromecast, making it easy for users to push content to their big-screen TV should they so wish.
Torrents Time plugin features
Of course, none of this fancy technology makes stealing content any more legal or any better in our eyes, but from a pure technical standpoint, there is no denying that Torrents Time is a serious piece of kit. It could be interesting to see what it develops into in the future.
(Via: TorrentFreak)
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